73% of Indian companies plan to use GenAI to strengthen security measures

New Delhi

About 73 percent of Indian organizations plan to use generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in the next 12 months to improve security measures and align IT goals with broader business objectives, a new report released on Monday said.

However, according to exposure management company Tenable, only 8 percent of organizations have high confidence in successfully implementing GenAI technology.

“Despite the growth of AI, many Indian enterprises are still developing their technology maturity and often lack the resources or skills needed to properly build, train and deploy AI, as well as maintain high standards of data management,” said Nigel Ng, senior vice president, Tenable APJ.

The report was conducted in October 2023 among 826 IT and cybersecurity professionals, including 52 respondents from India.

The report further identified two major challenges that hinder Indian organisations from leveraging and optimising AI technologies: lack of technological maturity (71 per cent) and uncertainty around the applicability of AI in their businesses (54 per cent).

The report highlights a disturbing aspect that 40% of Indian organizations perceive GenAI as a bigger security threat than an opportunity.

Internal misuse of GenAI has become a significant concern, with 67 percent expressing concerns about potential misuse within their organizations. Additionally, 60 percent said that sharing confidential data with open-source GenAI exposes them to the risk of intellectual property theft.

Despite the significant challenges associated with implementing AI technologies, cybersecurity and IT leaders in India are optimistic about the potential benefits of GenAI.

According to the report, about 31% of respondents believe GenAI can improve threat response, 42% believe it can automate security measures, and 40% believe it can improve actionability.

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“The future holds great promise for GenAI’s evolutionary capabilities to be leveraged for proactive cybersecurity measures. This shift moves the needle toward aligning IT and security goals and emphasizes prioritizing AI governance and responsible use of technology,” Ng said.